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NNE Winter 2012-13 Thread IV


klw

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My avg snowfall for 14 winters (98-99 thru 11-12) is 87". Average for deepest snowpack is 29", median is 26", which are 1/3 and 30% of snowfall, respectively. Having 3 winters touch the 4-ft mark drives the avg well above the median.

 

For you guys with good snow preservation, I think it would be demonstrated really well using snow-depth days.  My numbers for max depth on the snowpack for this location are mean = 30.6 ± 9.3” and median = 33.5”, but I bet we’re often hitting those numbers by storms being topped off with dry, upslope snow that eventually settles down somewhat.

 

I’ve got enough data now that I can start creating an “average snowpack plot” akin to what’s available for the Mt. Mansfield stake data on the SkiVT-L site

 

06-13snowpack.jpg

 

My plot is still somewhat jagged with only six complete seasons, but it certainly gets the job done; the ‘06-‘07’11-‘12 mean is in green fill, and this season’s snowpack depth is indicated by the red line.  I would characterize this season as being quite low in terms of snowpack, and it’s felt like it’s been that way the whole season, so I was initially surprised when I saw that huge spike that went above the mean.  It just goes to show that indeed that three week stretch from mid December to the beginning of January was pretty decent.  The first big spike in this season’s data is from that stretch, and then the second one was from the Nemo blizzard.

 

A couple of other interesting observations:  1) Right now the mean plot has that real notable dip around the first of December, and one can already see how the smoothing process will continue when this season’s data are incorporated – that December 1st spike in this year’s snowpack data will fit right in there and start to fill in the gap.  2) It’s also interesting to note that on “average”, snowpack is going to start around November 20th in this area.  However, the actual mean date for the start of continuous snowpack around here is later than that if I calculate it based on the average of the day the continuous snowpack started each season.  That’s because although the winter snowpack may start on November 20th and continue upward from there on “average”, it can, and often does, melt out during those next couple of weeks.  That resets the date of the actual start of continuous snowpack that I record, but “melt outs” disappear in the averaging/smoothing of the data.

 

On that note, as I made the plot I realized that there could be a couple of different way to calculate the “average” for maximum depth of snowpack.  One way, which is the way I calculated it at the top of this post, was to simply take the maximum depth attained in each season and average them.  The other, would be to plot the entirety of the seasonal snowpack data as I did above, and then find the peak.  The second method really smoothes down the number as it drops from over 2 ½ feet down to under 2 feet for this location.

 

That leads right in to the real reason I pulled my data together to begin with – I was curious about the average date for when the snowpack peaks here.  The analysis did of course provide that date, and with the current data set it’s March 3rd.  So, on average we’ve got another couple weeks of snowpack building before the snowpack starts to decline.

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Finally snowing nicely...measurable tenth or two lol.

 

It seems like things are falling right in line with elevation; last I checked down here at ~500’ there was a very slushy tenth of an inch on the snowboard, but we’re at 33 F and falling now, and it’s starting to stick better.

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For you guys with good snow preservation, I think it would be demonstrated really well using snow-depth days. My numbers for max depth on the snowpack for this location are mean = 30.6 ± 9.3” and median = 33.5”, but I bet we’re often hitting those numbers by storms being topped off with dry, upslope snow that eventually settles down somewhat.

Interesting. I don't have the graphics, but here are the monthly highs/lows for New Sharon snowpack, then some snow depth day numbers:

NOV...zero to 1.0"...avg..0.3"

DEC...0.2 to 7.5"...avg..4.2"

JAN...7.9 to 14.0"...avg..11.1"

FEB...14.1 to 20.9"...avg..18.3" (22.25" for 2/29, only 4 yr and 43" in 2008)

MAR...21.5 to 9.8"...avg..16.1" The 21.5" was on 3/2.

APR...10.2 to zero...avg 4.0" Latest continuous snowpack is 4/23.

SDD (yr)

Fort Kent (9)..avg 2,902, median 2,708, max 5,715 in 83-84, min 1,229 in 80-81

Gardiner (13)..avg 1,070, median 978, max 1,993 in 93-94, min 404 in 90-91. 95-96, snowiest winter by nearly 30", ranks 5th with 1,283. Thaws!

New Sharon (14)..avg 1,610, median 1,370, max 3,799 in 07-08, min 563 in 05-06. Last winter was 2nd worst at 731. 431 so far this year.

Edit: -SN began 6:30 (0.3"), to IP 8:30, now 31-32 and -RA. Puke...

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I went to Burlington this afternoon for the first time since October. I was surprised at the utter lack of snow on the ground from Richmond west. Hardly anything but some stuff in the woods and small piles from plowing. Not that we have a lot on the ground here, but I'm 100% covered with a number of inches in the pack. Just surprising to see.

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